Staten Island Stapletons

Last updated
Staten Island Stapletons
Founded1915
Folded1935
Based in Stapleton, Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States
LeagueIndependent (1915–1929)
National Football League (1929–1932)
Team historyStapleton Football Club (1915–1920)
Stapleton Ex-Service AC (1921)
Staten Island Stapletons (1915–1931)
Staten Island Stapes (1932–1935)
Team colorsBlue, yellow
  
Head coaches Al Neuschaefer (1925–1926)
Harold Hansen (1927–1928)
Daniel Daley (1929–1932)
Doug Wycoff (1929–1930)
Hinkey Haines (1931)
Marty Brill (1931)
General managersDan Daily
Owner(s) Dan Blaine
Other League Championship wins3 Staten Island Championships: (1921, 1922, 1923)
Named forStapleton, Staten Island
Home field(s) Thompson Stadium

The Staten Island Stapletons, also known as the Staten Island Stapes, were a professional American football team. Founded in 1915, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten Island. They played under the shortened nickname the "Stapes" the final two seasons.

Contents

Jack Shapiro, a blocking back for the Stapletons, was the shortest player in NFL history, weighing between 119–126 pounds (54–57 kg) and just over 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. [1]

Early years

The Staten Island Stapletons were founded in 1915 as a neighborhood team. The team was organized by Dan Blaine, who also served as the team's halfback. Blaine later became rich by building up a chain of restaurants. The Stapletons played similar semi-pro neighborhood teams from the New York City area. During those early years the Stapes played more for fun than money. Crowds were small and player salaries averaged $10 per game (equivalent to $301in 2023). The team won several local semi-pro titles before World War I.

The team was inactive in 1918, due to Blaine's service commitment to the military and involvement in the war, and reactivated in 1919. By that time, he was the sole owner. He retired as a player in 1924 and continued as owner and manager of the team, commonly called the Stapes. They took the Thompson Stadium, a minor league park in the neighborhood that gave them their name, as their permanent home field. Today the stadium site is occupied by Stapleton Housing located between Broad, Hill and Warren Streets and Tompkins Avenue. [2] Prior to moving into Thompson Stadium, the Stapletons played in two temporary local parks: Stapleton Field and East Shore Oval.

Between 1923 and 1924, Stapes manager Daniel Daley claimed the "New York Metropolitan championship" by beating the best independent pro teams in the area. In 1925, Tim Mara formed the New York Giants who moved into the Polo Grounds. Their presence in New York overshadowed the Stapes, particularly with the sell-out visit by Red Grange and the Chicago Bears on December 6, 1925. The Giants and Stapes began their New York rivalry on Thanksgiving Day 1925. The Giants defeated the Stapes in an exhibition game 7–0.

Newark Bears takeover

Over the following couple of seasons, the Stapes would play exhibitions against pro teams from the NFL and various other leagues. On November 14, 1926, the Stapes were routed by the Newark Bears, 33–0. The Bears belonged to Red Grange's American Football League, which served as competitor to the NFL during the 1926 season. Unhappy with the defeat, Blaine promptly hired most of the Newark players, including star rookie Doug Wycoff, who were still owed money because the Newark owner was having financial problems. As a result, the Bears went out of business while the Stapletons benefited from Newark's folding.[ citation needed ] In 1928, Blaine further upgraded the team by signing some star players from New York University, like Frank Briante.

Pre-NFL

In 1927, the Stapes fielded their ex-Newark Bears squad, although Wycoff signed with the Giants. The Giants would go on to win the 1927 NFL championship and defeated the Stapes twice in non-league games, 19–0 and 18–0. The Stapes though did manage to beat the NFL's Duluth Eskimos, featuring Ernie Nevers 7–6 on November 27, 1927. By 1928, Blaine wanted the Stapes to become an NFL franchise. He bolstered his squad by re-signing Doug Wycoff back as a player-coach and by signing six graduates from the nationally ranked New York University team. The Stapes had their best season on record, going 10–1–1, including a 3–1 record against NFL teams. They even pulled out a 7–0 victory over the Giants on Thanksgiving Day.

NFL

After his team rolled up a 10–1–1 record in 1928, Blaine applied for an NFL franchise in 1929. He needed permission from Tim Mara, the owner of the Giants, because Staten Island was in Mara's exclusive territory. But Mara actually had an extra franchise. It had originally belonged to the Brooklyn Lions and had been given to Mara when the Lions folded in 1927, because they owed him money. Mara had then allowed the New York Yankees, owned by Grange's manager C. C. Pyle, to use the franchise when that team moved from the defunct AFL into the NFL. The Yankees went out of business after the 1928 season, so the franchise again went back to Mara and he passed those franchise's rights on to Staten Island.

Blaine promptly hired Ken Strong, who became a Stapletons Hall of Famer. Strong, who received All-American honors while at New York University, was a speedy, powerful runner who was also one of the best kickers of the era.

The Stapletons never had a winning season in the NFL. During its first NFL season in 1929, the team went 3–4–3, defeating the Dayton Triangles, Boston Bulldogs, and the Minneapolis Red Jackets. The team also managed to tie the Frankford Yellow Jackets once and Orange Tornadoes twice. The team improved to a 5–5–2 record in 1930. That season the Stapes managed to defeat the rival New York Giants 7–6, after a four-yard touchdown run from Doug Wycoff and an extra point kick from Strong.

In July 1931, the team's official name on the league records was changed from the Stapleton Football Club, Inc., to Staten Island Stapes. At this time, Doug Wycoff left the team to rejoin the Giants. In need of a coach, Blaine hired Hinkey Haines, who had played briefly for the Stapes in 1929. The Stapes opened at home by beating the Dodgers 9–7 before 7,000 fans. A week later at Ebbets Field, the Dodgers forced three interceptions to defeat the Stapes 18–6. The team posted a 4–6–1 record in 1931, defeating the Giants, Dodgers (twice), and the Cleveland Indians.

Decline

In 1932, the Stapes finished last, defeating only the Giants and the Chicago Cardinals. Blaine was allowed by the NFL to suspend league play for the upcoming 1933 season. The team continued to lose money in 1933. While the team posted losses against the Giants, Dodgers, Portsmouth Spartans, and Green Bay Packers, it did manage to defeat the newly established Philadelphia Eagles. Doug Wycoff and Bob Campiglio stayed with the Stapes in 1933, but their star player Ken Strong signed with the Giants and helped them win the NFL's Eastern Division championship that season and the NFL league championship in 1934.

Blaine went through the formality of getting NFL permission to suspend league operations for the 1934 season. The team played one more season of semi-pro football in 1934 before quietly folding a year later. [3] In June 1935, Blaine's franchise was finally declared forfeit. The franchise's failure can be blamed on a combination of the Great Depression and having too small of a stadium that could never accommodate enough fans to make the team profitable.

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Staten Island Stapletons Hall of Famers
Players
No.NamePositionTenureInducted
— Ken Strong HB/FB 1929–19321967

Season-by-season

YearWLTFinishCoach
19293436th Doug Wycoff
19305526th
19314617th Hinkey Haines, Marty Brill
19322738th Harold Hansen

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange/Newark Tornadoes</span> American football franchise

The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)</span> American football team in the National Football League (1930–1943)

The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field of the baseball National League's team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1945, because of financial difficulties and the increasing scarcity of major league–level players because of the war-time defense requirements at the height of World War II, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks and were known as the Yanks for that season.

The 1929 NFL Season was the tenth regular season of the National Football League. The league increased back to 12 teams with the addition of the Staten Island Stapletons, Orange Tornadoes and Minneapolis Red Jackets and the re-entry of the Buffalo Bisons. The Pottsville Maroons became the Boston Bulldogs, the New York Yankees folded, and the Detroit Wolverines merged into the New York Giants, with the Giants the surviving partner.

The 1930 NFL season was the 11th regular season of the National Football League.

The 1933 NFL season was the 14th regular season of the National Football League.

Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Mara</span> American football executive

Timothy James Mara was an American professional football executive. He was the founding owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). The Giants, under Mara, won NFL championships in 1927, 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, and 1958.

The first American Football League (AFL), sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League (NFL). Founded by Charles "C.C." Pyle, (1882–1939), and General Charles X. Zimmerman, (1865–1926), as vice president and starring Hall of Fame halfback Harold Edward "Red" Grange, (1903–1991), the short-lived league with nine teams competed against the more established – then six-year-old – NFL, both for players and for fans. While Pyle's and Grange's New York Yankees team and the already established Philadelphia Quakers became reliable draws, the lack of star power and the uncertain financial conditions of the other seven teams led to the league's dissolution after one season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial history of the New York Giants</span>

The New York Giants, an American football team which plays in the National Football League (NFL), have had a long, and at times turbulent financial history. The Giants were founded in 1925 by businessman and bookmaker Tim Mara with an investment of 500 US$, and became one of the first teams in the then five-year-old NFL. Mara passed ownership of the team on to his sons Wellington and Jack after the 1929 Stock Market Crash to insulate the team from creditors. At first the Mara sons owned the team in name only, but they took increasingly larger roles in the organization beginning in the mid-1930s. Tim Mara remained involved in the team's operations until his death in 1959, when his sons assumed full control of the club. After Jack's passing in 1965, his son, Tim, took over his share of the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Wycoff</span> American football player and coach (1903–1981)

Stephen Douglas Wycoff was an American football running back for the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins in the National Football League (NFL), the Newark Bears in the first American Football League (AFL), and the Boston Shamrocks in the second American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he was a running back and senior captain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Strong</span> American football player

Elmer Kenneth Strong was an American professional football player who was a halfback and fullback. He also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team.

The 1926 AFL season is the only season of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season, only four teams were still in existence: three teams owned or subsidized by league founder C. C. Pyle and star Red Grange and league champion Philadelphia Quakers. The initial lineup of teams included the traveling Wildcats and a charter member of the National Football League, the Rock Island Independents, which became a second traveling team after having poor attendance in its first three games.

The American Association (AA) was a professional American football minor league based in New York City. Founded in 1936 with teams in New York and New Jersey, the AA extended its reach to Providence, Rhode Island prior to the onset of World War II. After a four-year hiatus, the league was renamed the American Football League as it expanded to include teams in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1947, the Richmond Rebels of the Dixie League purchased the assets of the defunct AFL Long Island Indians and jumped leagues.

The Newark Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926 AFL season. Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association, the Bears played their home games in Davids' Stadium. Coached by player-coach Hal Hansen, the majority of the team played their college football in Georgia and Florida.

The Cleveland Panthers were a professional American football team. They were an independent team founded in 1919 from the remains of the Youngstown Patricians. The Panthers played, with various degrees of success, continuously from 1919 and eventually, as fewer opponents played them each year after 1926, sputtered to a quiet folding in 1933.

Daniel Blaine (1891–1958) was a professional football player for the Staten Island Stapletons from 1915 until 1924. In 1915 he, along with three other players, formed the team to play other semi-pro teams from New York and New Jersey. He suspended his football career in 1918 to serve in the United States military during World War I. Once the war ended, Blaine took over sole ownership of the Stapletons. He stayed in the Stapleton lineup at halfback until ending his playing career in 1924 at age 33. After his retirement from football, Blaine focused solely on owning and managing the team.

Edwin (Piggy) Simandl was the owner of the Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes of the National Football League. He became the team's owner in 1929, when Ole Haugsrud, the owner of Duluth Eskimos, sold his defunct franchise rights to Simandl. This allowed Simandl to place his Orange Tornadoes in the NFL. In addition to running his NFL franchise, Simandl was a wholesale meat salesman, which was why he was given the nickname "Piggy". In 1930, the team moved to Newark and played a dismal season that resulted in just 1 win. Afterward, Simandl sold his franchise rights back to the NFL. However, after a 2-year hiatus, he reorganized his team in Orange. The Tornadoes then defeated the Staten Island Stapletons 7-0 in their first game back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cy Williams (American football)</span> American football player and wrestler (1903–1965)

Burton Caswell "Cy" Williams was an American college and professional football player who was a tackle for three different professional teams in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1920s and early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike Williams (American football)</span> American football player (1903–1977)

Ivan Andy "Ike" Williams was an American gridiron football player of the 1920s. He played college football for Georgia Tech and later had a brief professional career.

Michael Stramiello Jr. was an American football player, coach, and team owner. He played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 to 1934. He was also the coach and an owner of the Newark Tornadoes in 1937 and 1938.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Bashore, Mel (1999). ""Cup of Coffee" Players: Jack Shapiro" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 21 (4). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-07.
  2. ↑ "Parkhill". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  3. ↑ Robinson, George (February 1, 2004). "F.Y.I". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.